Pasta is a common dinner in our house, so we’re always on the lookout for new ways to enjoy it. We are big fans of pesto, but don’t always have fresh basil on hand. We do usually have kale or spinach in the fridge though. So kale pesto it is!

How to Make Kale and Almond Pesto Pasta

One of the best things about pesto is that you can adjust based on what you love or what you have lying around in your pantry. This kale pesto is no different.

In most basil pesto recipes, pine nuts are used. Instead of pine nuts, we love using almonds with the kale. One thing to remember when using nuts, toast them first. Toasting nuts adds so much flavor — it brings the nuts back to life. If you don’t have almonds on hand, walnuts, pecans or even peanuts would be great.

Whenever we cook with kale, we like to give it a good wash. In this case, we also remove any thick stems or ribs as well. Then we add the kale is to boiling water to cook for about 10 minutes.

Once cooked, we drain and squeeze excess water from the kale and add to a food processor along with the toasted almonds, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. After adding oil and pulsing the pesto is the perfect consistency to toss with hot pasta. Although, this pesto would be amazing tossed with cooked vegetables or spread onto toast and served as an appetizer.

Kale and Almond Pesto Pasta Recipe

PREP 15mins

COOK 10mins

TOTAL 25mins

In traditional basil pesto, you’ll usually see pine nuts used. Instead of pine nuts, we love using almonds with the kale. If you don’t have almonds on hand, walnuts, pecans or even peanuts would be great.

Makes approximately 4 to 6 servings

You Will Need

1 large bunch of kale, rinsed with stems and ribs removed

1/2 cup blanched almonds

2 cloves garlic, roughly minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (1/2 cup)

1 pound pasta, any shape

Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Make Pesto

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add kale and cook 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry.

Meanwhile, toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking frequently, until fragrant, browned, and not burned.

Add the kale, almonds, garlic, and the red pepper flakes to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times so everything is chopped small. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl. Once all the olive oil has been added, check the consistency of the pesto — we like it to have some texture. If you prefer it smoother, pulse a few more times.

Transfer pesto to a bowl then stir in cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Use immediately or store for later.

To Finish

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until it is tender but not mushy. Toss with the pesto, thinning with a little of the hot cooking water as necessary. Serve immediately with more cheese on top.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

Spinach is a great substitute for the kale. If you use spinach, you should not need to cook it in advance.

How to Store Pesto in the Refrigerator: Add a thin layer of extra olive oil to the top (to prevent any air from getting to it), cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

How to Freeze Pesto: If freezing, leave out the cheese. Fill ice cube trays with pesto, freeze until hard. Then store frozen cubes in freezer-safe plastic bags. Freeze up to 1 month.

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste

I just made this for dinner. I did NOT cook the kale beforehand, I used it raw. It was still quite good, although I think I may try blanching the kale next time to make it more tender. Kale is kind of tough and I had to puree it a lot.
By all means DO take those ribs out. Those things are tough enough to thatch a roof… lol
I also used 1/2 toasted sunflower seeds and 1/2 walnuts in place of almonds. I crushed the nuts in a mortar & pestle before adding to the food processor.
I also used about 1/4 cup red onion, chopped fine, and about 1/2 cup prosciutto ham, also chopped fine, for extra flavor. I added these at the very end to the pot when I was mixing all the ingredients together.
It was really, really good. I served it with rotini.
As kale is kind of bland, next time I may add some arugula leaves to perk up the flavor. 🙂

I’m so glad I tried this. I’m a college student who’s just starting to try cooking things on my own more often, and this was definitely a Pinterest success. I used pecans instead of almonds, but it tastes great still. Thanks for the idea!!

Being a huge fan of kale, I just HAD to try making this recipe as soon as I saw it.
I put the pesto on a whole wheat angel hair pasta. I didn’t have olive oil on me, so I used a combination of canola oil, butter, and some half and half (to make it a bit creamier). I used half the amount of red pepper, and it still came out a bit spicy.
Overall, a very delicious and wholesome flavor, although the pesto wouldn’t have been as thick if I hadn’t drained the kale as much as was instructed.

Yum! Just made this with the HUGE bunch of leftover kale I had sitting in the fridge (which I had no idea what to do with…)- eating it now and really love it!
We don’t eat a lot of pesto, being that it’s just the two of us (for the next few months, at least!). I was thinking of freezing it in small batches and defrosting it on weeks when I’m using it in a couple of recipes. How long do you think it would keep in the freezer?

Hi Jessica, We usually keep things like pesto in the freezer for up to three months (you could probably go longer, but after 3 months we usually forget about it). When you do freeze, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to the top of the pesto then cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.

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